I’ve tried out a couple of new restaurants lately, and fortunately they were both really good. The latest was the new Café Brasil, on West Washington Boulevard in the no mans land between Marina del Rey and Culver City. I had been to their Venice Boulevard location several times before, but not for a few years. That place had good food, but you had to eat on a primitive patio that was very close to the traffic. Whenever we thought about going, it always seemed too fast-foody. But the new place is much nicer ambiance-wise. It’s decorated in bright colors and mismatched furniture, with a few Bed Bath and Beyond knickknacks strewn about for the sake of decoration. It borders Washington Blvd., but it’s a quieter street and it would probably be nice to sit outside, away from the TVs showing non-stop soccer.
The food is still delicious. I had the dark-meat chicken, which came with a salad, black beans and rice, a lemony tomato and onion garnish, and fried plantains. I also had a side of fried yucca, which was light and crispy and delicious. My friend had the sausage sandwich, which she said was pretty good. The prices range from $8 to $15 or so. The best deal is probably lunch, when they offer a $7 “executive lunch” special with all the trimmings.
Then last week I went to Tender Greens in the newly hip Downtown Culver City, also on Washington. It’s the kind of place where you order from a counter and they bring your food to your table. They serve chicken, fish, and steak, which can be in a salad, sandwich, or on a plate. I’m sure they also have vegetarian selections. I had the tuna plate. It was a small, seared tuna filet with a blob of creamy mashed potatoes, a crouton and a salad, for $9. You get to choose from various types of salad and I had the spinach salad with goat cheese and pecans. The tuna was barely cooked, which I like, and the mashed potatoes were very tasty. I’ll definitely be back.
